Big Second Half Propels Eagles to Victory Over Indiana University Kokomo

Dec 10, 2018

Chance Cornett

PIPPA PASSES, KY: The Alice Lloyd College Eagles broke open a tight contest with a big second half to knock off the visiting Indiana University Kokomo Cougars over the weekend, 87-76. The River States Conference game was played on Saturday.

In the opening five minutes, six early points from junior forward Chance Cornett sparked the hosts to a quick 14-7 advantage. However, the confident Cougar squad quickly reversed things by spurting off a 10-2 run of their own to take their first lead (17-16) at 12:22. The remainder of the half was dead even as the two clubs traded hoops until the buzzer sounded. When Eagle sophomore guard Noah Young drained two charity tosses at .01, the halftime score stood tied at 33 apiece.

In the second half, the hometown club would come out of the locker room strong. Just as he did to open the matchup, Cornett would provide six quick points. When junior guard Blake Smith drilled a tough, contested jumper in the paint at the 15:13 mark, the Eagles led 48-41.

Kokomo is a strong squad and they would continue to battle furiously. However, each time the Cougars made a dent in the lead, ALC would respond with a mini-run to regain their footing and push their advantage to double-digits.

Eventually, IUK guard Trequan Spivey connected from deep with 4:25 remaining, to reduce the deficit to just five, 72-67. Reeling and in need of a big play, the Eagles turned to senior veteran Ryan House.

First, on his team’s critical possession, the guard coolly swished a deep three. Then, the next time the Caney Creek boys had the ball, House answered once more with another bomb to bring the crowd to its feet. After Kokomo scored, the senior delivered the knockout punch when he faked a trifecta, then drove for a driving bucket that whipped the crowd into a frenzy.

When the smoke had cleared from his personal 8-4 outburst, the Eagles led 80-71 and were never threatened again. They then drained their free throws to extend the lead to 87-71 before two late Indiana hoops set the final score.

For ALC (4-7; 1-3 RSC), Cornett led four double-digit scorers with 25 points and added a team-high 9 boards. Young dropped in 15 points and led all players with 5 assists. House and Smith both contributed 13 points while Smith added 2 blocks. Freshman forward Will Philpot came off the bench to lead in steals with 2.

Alice Lloyd shot 44.3 (31-70) from the field and 30.4 % (7-23) from long range. From the charity line, they drained 75% (18-24). Additionally, they registered 37 rebounds, 6 steals, 11 assists, and 4 blocks.

Kokomo (8-3; 2-2 RSC), was led by Spivey with 21 points. His club connected on 37.7% (26-69) from the field, 37.5% (9-24) from long range, and 71.4% (15-21) from the charity stripe. They also had 47 rebounds, 1 steal, and 6 assists.

The Eagles return to action on Thursday when they host the Welch College Flames at 7:30. They will then journey to Georgia over the break for a two-game series with the College of Coastal Georgia and Brewton-Parker College.